Until the End of Tomorrow
By: Starlight-x
Chapter 3: Preparations
"I'm leaving."
Trowa looked around at the softly spoken words. "I see."
"I'm sure you do." Quatre gave a soft chuckle. "Tell Catherine I'll be back but my feet must walk the earth and my voice must sing the songs again."
"The Ederthan'layll." Trowa considered for a moment. "The Song of Comfort."
"Yes." Quatre nodded once.
"Be wary." Trowa looked steadily at his friend. "It is always easier to see at a distance rather than up close. And remember you are once again mortal and a man."
"My songs are needed once again. That is reason enough for me." Quatre's voice was firm. "I will be cautious. Yes, I know I am mortal, but some part of me still is Song of the Warrior. That was a song I sang and in the making and singing part of it became part of me. I will be fine."
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It should've been raining. Sally considered that thought as she sat gazing at nothing in particular. If it had then at least she would have some semblance of sorrow surrounding her. Right now she felt as if her emotions were frozen. Her father was no longer living. As the sun had lifted over the horizon his life had simply ceased. Sally had been next to him, awake, her healer instincts telling her it would be soon. It had seemed the most natural thing in the world and yet Sally felt her heart protest the separation. In the first few moments following her father's death she had considered attempting a life calling. Only her promise that she would not perform one until she had another healer to partner with kept her from doing so. Instead she sat, holding her father's hand between both of her own, unsure of where to go, what to do.
She was lost and alone.
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Dorothy walked along, completely unsure of where she was going and growing more annoyed by the minute. It felt like forever had passed since she'd left the temple. Of course she was well ware that only a few day s had gone by. Without anywhere to go she wandered aimlessly. She hated not being in complete control of her actions. And wandering around aimlessly fueled her irritation. If only Cala were still alive, then she wouldn't be wandering by herself; she would've had a companion. As it was she was unsure of what exactly she was going to do. Staying at the temple bereft of the goddess' power had been an unthinkable option. She had felt as if she were in a tomb, not a temple. But wandering alone wasn't an option she willingly embraced either.
Wrapped in her frustration with not knowing she nearly didn't see the pretty blonde half elf sitting outside of a hastily built shelter. For a moment Dorothy stared before remembering why the woman looked so familiar. "Sally?" The question came out without her even trying. She took another step closer.
Sally looked over at her and Dorothy was struck by the tragedy that rested in her sky blue eyes. "Oh, Dorothy. What are you doing here?"
Dorothy looked around before bringing her gaze back to Sally. "I don't know." She finally responded, feeling that spark of irritation again at her goalless wandering. It died as she saw again the grief in the other woman's eyes. She remembered pain like that. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "How's your father?" She finally asked.
"He's fine." Sally looked down at her hands, turning them over to stare at the backs and then the palms. "His spirit passed this morning when the sun rose."
For a moment Dorothy didn't understand, then the meaning hit her all at once. "You mean he died?"
Sally winced visibly at Dorothy's last word. "I suppose that's what humans call it, but yes he..." She trailed off, unable to say the last word.
Dorothy shifted her weight again. At least when Cala died, she'd had something to vent her grief on, someone to obtain revenge against. But she didn't know how to deal with this. There was no enemy here, just the natural state of things. She couldn't fight death itself. "Are you okay?" The question sounded like something she should ask. And she felt some regret to hear of the old elf's death. She remembered how he'd looked at her when he'd spoken of seeing the Dance of Swords. She'd felt like he'd seen more then he let on about.
"Death is just a part of life. I know that as a healer, especially as a healer." Sally folded her hands together tightly. "When my mother died my father sang a song, the Ederthan'layll. He said the elves sing it especially at partings like that." She looked up at Dorothy and shook her head. "I can't even sing the song for him, he never taught it to me."
"I can sing it for you."
Both females turned to see a young man standing a short distance away. Sunlight almost seemed to glint off his blonde hair. Sympathy shone from his eyes and he took a step toward them.
"Song of the Warrior." Sally breathed out.
"No more." He smiled gently. "Now I'm just Quatre, a singer or minstrel."
"You know the song?" Sally had risen. "You'll sing it for my father?"
"Yes." Quatre nodded. He drew in a deep breath and began to sing.
As she listened to the song Dorothy felt something stir within her. Even thought the words were foreign she felt first a wave of grief wash over her followed by a sense of peace. Absently she blinked away the tears that had blurred her vision. Sally was crying. The half elf didn't sob and wail, instead tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks while her gaze was riveted on Quatre as she watched him sing.
The song came to an end and Quatre opened his eyes and looked at Sally. "You know that song was never meant for the dead but for the ones left behind."
"I know now." Sally lifted her hands to wipe the tear trails off her face. "Thank you."
Quatre nodded in response and sat down.
Sally sank down gracefully to a sitting position. For a moment she stared at Quatre, eyebrows furrowed in question. "I can't help asking, forgive me if I am presumptuous, but, do you know where Asthernell is?"
Quatre looked back at her. "Yes, of course I do."
"It was my father's request that I journey there after he passed." Sally explained. "Would you do me the honor of guiding me there?"
"Of course." Quatre repeated.
"Asthernell?" Dorothy had had enough of standing quietly in the background. Both of the blondes looked at her.
"Asthernell is the hidden city where the elves retreated when Ha'derkaath was hunting them." Quatre explained.
"I've never been there." Sally admitted. "Since I was born of a human mother my father deemed it best not to take me there. Besides which our healing gifts were in greater demand out in the world as opposed to a hidden city."
"Oh." Dorothy knew she sounded bored, but she wasn't interested in all the backstory that Sally obviously contained and was now trying to give as an explanation for her actions. "Let me go with you."
Sally blinked once in surprise. "Pardon me?"
"You're heading for a place you've never been. You're a Life Caller with no way to protect yourself besides this Minstrel. Neither of you will be much use in a melee."
"I have no objections." Sally began carefully. "You are welcome to join me if you want, but I cannot assure your welcome in Asthernell." Her face turned a bit sad as she continued. "I cannot even assure my own welcome there."
"That doesn't matter." Dorothy said. The city itself wasn't where she wanted to go; instead her offer had been for the simple reason of finding some purpose beyond aimless wandering. It appeared that her unexpected meeting with Sally and Quatre had afforded her that.
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The library was a dry, well lit place for being located under and inside one of the largest trees in Asthernell. Errandal felt the momentary twinge of incredulity that accompanied each of his trips here. He shook it off with a flash of impatience. He didn't have time for remnants of childhood awe. The announcement had just been circulated. The princess and her human bondmate were going to hold the bonding ceremony. Once the ceremony was held any attempts to separate them would be in direct violation of one of the primary elven laws. To say that the announcement caused a great deal of upheaval would be putting it mildly.
Orestaphal had sent him a message commanding him not to do anything rash. He would attempt to dissuade the princess from her goal. Errandal had set his father's note ablaze, watching as it burned with complete satisfaction. Let the old one do what he would. Errandal had had enough, thus he had come to research. He moved past shelves filled with scrolls, pulling several out to examine the markings on their outside cases. Most he returned to the shelves, a few he set on a reading table to collect later.
"Ah, Errandal. It is rare to see you here."
The softly spoken words captured his attention. Errandal turned to see Tielan, the librarian, standing behind him, cradling an armload of scrolls tenderly. "Is there something I can help you find?" Tielan asked when she knew she had his attention.
"No." Errandal shook his head, silently offering a curse. He hadn't really wanted anyone to know he'd been in the library.
"If you're sure." Tielan gave the slightest shrug. "That's what the Princess said too."
Errandal had been gathering up his scrolls but froze as he heard what Tielan had said. "The Princess?"
Tielan nodded. "Oh yes. She's been in several times in the last couple weeks. It appears she's brushing up on her magic. She started taking out scrolls on basic magic theory but now she's pulling more advanced studies."
"How intriguing." Errandal finished gathering up his scrolls and straightened. "I suppose further study can never hurt anyone." He hefted his scrolls as example with a polite smile. "If you'll excuse me."
"Of course." Tielan seemed to disappear among the shelves as she walked away with noiseless footsteps.
Errandal exited the library and headed back to his rooms. He could feel the hint of a smile grow on his face and suppressed it quickly enough. So the Lady Relena was pulling out scrolls of magic was she? That little tidbit of information might just come in handy in the near future. There was no conceivable way that the Princess needed to brush up on her theory or casting. The only person who would gain anything from reading those scrolls would be the only one who had to be entirely ignorant of elfin magic. Heero, the mage. Of course if he had already graduated from basic theory to advanced in only a few weeks he had to be something of a genius. Errandal frowned as he dropped the armload of scrolls he carried onto a table. It wouldn't hurt to ensure his suspicions were correct before he did anything about what he'd learned.
But for now he had something else to do. Errandal sat down and selected a scroll from his small pile and began to read.
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Betrothed. Even now the concept seemed unreal to him. Wufei had taken dragon form and was flying high in the sky. Thankfully Meiran had decided not to follow him. She had been almost constantly by his side the past several days. She hadn't clung, that thankfully wasn't in her nature. For the most part she had simply watched him in each of his interactions.
"I'm learning about you," was the answer she gave when he finally confronted her about her continued presence.
Wufei had endured it as graciously as he could; even managing to let most of her opinions slide past him without letting them annoy him. Until this morning that is, when Meiran had cornered him and asked why he didn't travel in his natural form more often. He soon learned her opinions on taking form besides their own. When she seemed to hint at cowardice for being a reason to hide his true nature Wufei's patience had given way and he'd turned and left. Meiran had wisely chosen to stay behind.
Cowardice. The word rankled. Whatever Meiran might think of him Wufei had the pride of a dragon and fear didn't have any place in his thoughts or his actions. The seeming implication she had given that it did stung. He preferred his human guise simply because he didn't garner so much attention in that form.
Oddly enough Meiran seemed to thrive on the attention she received. Sometimes she acted like such a child even though they were both of an age. Wufei felt older somehow. Much of his lifespan had been spent running and hiding the Key of Justice from Ha'derkaath.
For a moment Wufei wondered if Meiran even knew he was Guardian of Justice. But in the next instant he brushed the thought aside. She had to know. He was positive he'd been in dragon form at least once since Meiran had come and it was next to impossible to miss the blood red gem that was partially embedded in his chest.
But perhaps she hadn't noticed it. Wufei finally noticed where he was unconsciously going. He was heading for the Watcher's cave. Before she left the last thing Agniallia had told him was that Trowa was easy to talk to and had the unexpected benefit of helping straighten out your thoughts. "It's as much what he doesn't say as what he does. Go and see him if you ever need council of any kind."
Wufei felt a sense of unreality that he was actually going to follow that advice.
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They had finally committed to throwing the entire city into total chaos. Relena found the thought depressing. She loved her people, but at the same time she loved Heero. She couldn't imagine not having him there, physically or through the lifebond. Still she would've preferred keeping the fact that they were planning to hold the bonding ceremony a secret for just a little bit longer. Both Heero and her brother disagreed. "I don't think it's wise to keep that secret." Zechs had said. "There's too many who have problems with Heero being lifebonded to you. If you keep it secret you'll just give them more to blame Heero for."
Relena had finally given in and allowed the announcement, appreciating the sympathetic look Noin had given her and the gentle caress Heero had sent through their bond.
"What's troubling you?"
Relena looked up at Heero. She'd thought him engrossed in the scroll he'd brought with him but saw it was lying unattended in his lap while he looked at her with what she'd come to recognize as concern.
"I was just wishing that Duo and Hilde were here." Relena brought up another concern, instead of telling him what she'd actually been thinking about. Most of the elves hated him for the simple fact that he was a human instead of an elf. The ironic fact was that he would've been considered perfect for her if he were only the right race.
The warmth of a hand settling over her own startled her out of her musings again. Heero had moved to sit beside her. "Don't we have any way of contacting them?"
"Short of the Watcher, no." Relena gave a sigh. "Hilde will never forgive me if she isn't here for my bonding ceremony. But I don't have the slightest idea where they might be. Their only plan was to wander aimlessly until they decided to stop."
"Sounds like something Duo would do." Heero said, a wry expression on his face.
Relena gave a laugh that turned into a sigh as she leaned her head against Heero's shoulder. "Why can't they just be happy for me?" The question that had really been bothering her slipped out without her trying.
Heero picked up her hand. "Take it as a complement, love. Maybe they don't want to loose their princess so quickly. You know how short our lifespans are compared to yours."
"I already told you that didn't matter to me."
"I know that. But maybe it does matter to your people."
"They are so afraid. Ha'derkaath took my people's spirit along with the Key of Truth." Relena clutched at Heero's hand.
"I suppose they'll just have to find their spirit again, won't they?"
"We'll have to help them I'm afraid." Relena said.
"Then we will."
They sat there in silence for a while.
"So, why don't you ask the Watcher where Duo and Hilde are?"
Relena sat up at the question, turning so she could look into Heero's face. "What? How could I possibly do that? I don't even know where he is."
"Aren't the birds his eyes?"
"I think some birds are, not all. Besides I don't feel right asking the Watcher for a favor."
Heero stood up and move to the edge of the balcony. "Just ask the wind then."
There was a slight breeze blowing and Heero turned to face into it. He closed his eyes and murmured something as he made a few gestures with his hands. Relena felt the familiar tingle of magic through their bond and then Heero opened his eyes.
"What did you do?" She asked, curious.
"Just sent a message to Duo and Hilde." Heero's reply was simple enough but she detected a slightly smug look on his face.
Relena couldn't help laughing. "I don't think I wanted to know what the message said."
"Don't worry, I didn't cause them any undue worry." Heero assured her. "But it should get them back here as quickly as possible."
"Well, I suppose I should thank you for that."
"You stopped looking so worried and smiled. That's enough." Heero sat down and replaced the scroll he'd been reading in its protective case.
"I just hope there aren't too many repercussions from our ceremony."
"Do you want to cancel?"
"No," Relena shook her head emphatically. "I just don't want to be the cause of my people's unrest."
"You aren't. I am and I think I can handle it." Heero spoke confidently.
"That's just the problem, I don't want you to have to handle it. I just want everything to be…..perfect."
"I'd make it perfect for you if I could." Heero pulled Relena into a hug, wrapping her with feelings of security through the lifebond at the same time.
"I know." Relena's hands clutched the back of his robe tightly. For the moment it was enough.
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Noin found herself heading for the Glade of Elai. Her own bonding with Zechs had taken place there and Relena's desire to hold her bonding ceremony with Heero at the exact same spot had triggered both a sense of nostalgia and a plethora of fond memories.
As she moved down the path that led into the glade she took her time, noticing again how the trees seemed to grow closer together as if protecting the small meadow they enclosed. At the same time the sense of unease Noin had been feeling ever since she arrived back at Asthernell seemed to grow. Her agitation increased the nearer she drew to the opening into the glade.
Noin?
She felt Zechs' touch of concern through their lifebond. I'm fine. She sent back a reassuring reply even though she felt anything but fine. As she crossed into the glade she knew that her reply had been premature.
The stench of death seemed to permeate the entire place, lingering especially over the spring. The fountain was no longer flowing, the water stagnant and covered with scum and algae. The green of the plants had turned to brown and putrid colors. Noin took a step back, covering her mouth and nose with both hands. It was at that moment that she felt it. Through the earth a pain so sharp it caused her to cry out.
LUCREZIA? Zechs' cry rang inside her head. She couldn't answer, could only sink to the ground and sob.
I'm coming darling. Hold on love. Zechs was almost in a panic.
Hurry. She managed the wish through the pain and her grief. She wrapped her arms about herself. The pain she sensed from the earth itself made her feel like she was bleeding from a mortal wound. She couldn't stand it, but she couldn't leave either. All she could do was weep and wait for her lifemate.
Then he was there, scooping her up against him, checking her over for physical wounds while his concern and love poured through their bond, soothing her emotional and mental pain. She felt his own distress at the sight of the glade and the sense of death that permeated it. But most of his concern was focused on her. Once he realized that the glade was causing her pain he picked her up, cradling her against his chest as he strode from the area. As soon as her contact with the ground was severed the pain dulled and became less the further they moved from the glade.
Finally Zechs slowed to a stop. The pain had faded completely but the memory of it and the reason for it caused the tears to continue to flow down her cheeks. Noin buried her face in her lifemate's chest and wept.